The invention relates to a child""s seat for airplanes, in particular a child""s seat for children up to two years of age.
Presently, in airplanes, children of up to two years are held on the lap of a responsible person during takeoff and landing. As an alternative, seats for children are provided that are fastened on an airplane seat. The child is well restrained in these seats, but at the expense of a seat for a paying grown-up passenger. Further, for the duration of the flight, i.e. outside takeoff and landing, baby basinets are known that are fastened to the back of cabin partitions. Seats for children may also be mounted in this manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,212 describes a child""s seat for airplanes comprising a mounting to be fastened to a partition wall of an airplane. The mounting supports a seat arranged at a fixed height. A small space is provided between the child""s seat and an opposite seat for a grown-up. It is not ensured that the head strike arc of the seat for the grown-up is clear.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,163 describes a child""s seat mounted in front of the seat for a grown-up to a transverse bar below that seat. Here, the child sits between the legs of a person sitting in the adult""s seat. In a special embodiment, the child""s seat is mounted to a partition wall of the plane immediately on the cabin floor.
A general problem is that any child""s seat that is also used during takeoff and landing, usually causes the loss of a regular seat.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a child""s seat for airplanes that may be used during takeoff and landing, with the head strike arc remaining clear, and which allows the child to be comfortably turned to a grown-up during the flight.
The child""s seat of the invention comprises a mounting to be fastened at a partition wall of an airplane, the seat being adapted to be fixed at at least two vertical positions on the mounting. During the flight, the seat may be lowered so that it is located, e.g., on the level of the chest of an accompanying person seated on an airplane seat. During takeoff and landing, the seat is adjusted in the top position so as to not obstruct the space in front of the seated accompanying person. Regulations provide that during takeoff and landing a head strike arc must remain clear of any objects for each person sitting on an airplane seat. The head strike arc defines the space the head and chest of a sitting person move through in case of a strong deceleration of the plane. During takeoff and landing, the seat of the invention may be moved to an upper position above the head strike arc of the associated airplane seat. In case of an accident, a collision between the passenger and the small child is avoided.
The present child""s seat is advantageous in that an enlargement of the distance between the partition wall and the first row of seats is not necessary. Thus, the child""s seat does not use up passenger space. During the flight, the seat is pulled down to a position that is comfortable to the accompanying person. Suitably, this lower position is variable or adjustable. Preferably, the top position that is the position during takeoff and landing, is fixedly predetermined. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the seat is a bucket seat with a back portion and a molded seat pivotally adjustable with respect to the back portion. The molded seat allows to select between a sitting and a sleeping position of the child.
The back portion of the seat is suitably suspended on the mounting by its upper end and comprises a movable support device for moving the back portion into an inclined position relative to the partition. Thus, it is possible to move the entire seat into an inclined sleeping position.
To store the child""s seat in a compact manner when not in use, the molded seat may suitably be pivoted against back portion.
The seat may be adapted to be pivoted and fixed about a longitudinal axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the plane. This increases the variability of the child""s seat.
The vertical displacement of the seat may be effected or assisted by a drive means moving the seat along the mounting. Such a drive means may be, for example, an electric motor or a gas spring.